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(SKETCH WRITTEN BY SPECIAL REQUEST) 

By DR. J. O. DYER 



COPYRIGHT 

Dr. J. O. Dyer, Galveston, Texas 

1917 



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T\)<a Old flrtillery Company 



of Galveston 



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(SKETCH WRITTEN BY SPECIAL REQUEST) 

By DR. J. O. DYER 



COPYRIGHT 

Dr. J. O. Dyer, Galveston, Texas 

1917 



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The Old Artillery Company 

OF GALVESTON 



In the early forties of last century, men capable of bearing arms had to 
be patriotic, for the danger of local invasion was the greater in the few small 
cities of the Republic of Texas. Galveston from 1836 until 1845 was espe- 
cially notorious for the many "war-scares" which it suffered, due to the 
exposed position of the settlement to naval attack. 

Nevertheless, excepting some naval engagements off the island and in 
the Bay itself, the young town was spared it's baptism of blood for many 
years until the Civil War- 

The continual war scares of Mexican invasion were productive in form- 
ing a number of military companies, organized mostly for home defense. 
Many of these promptly went out of existence when the alarm of war had 
subsided. At least three companies were formed in Galveston prior to 1840- 
Perhaps the first was that called together by Sheriff Wilson late in 1838, a 
levy of citizens for defense of their homes. In 1839 Colonel Ephraim McLean 
raised a company for frontier service; said company elected E. McLean 
captain and N. B. Yard first lieutenant. During their absence companies 
with such high sounding names as the Fencibles and Invincibles took care of 
the rising port of Galveston, which, however, had also the protection of a 
few marines at the naval yard, and a few gunners who manned the pieces of 
artillery at Fort Travis. The war scares sometimes were accompanied by 
ludicrous examples of the effect of fear upon the human mind and eyesight. 
It was on the eve of April 26th, 1836, that the industrious women of the 
refugee camp at Broadway and 18th had taken advantage of the only avail- 
able fresh water pond, situated north of Avenue N, on Bath Avenue (which 
derived its name from said pond) and had washed out a number of garments 
and soiled linen, which were suspended on lines to dry. 

Suddenly the boom of cannon from the fleet in the harbor caused a rapid 
exodus from cabins, huts, tents and shelters, and frightened eyes beheld in 
the distant west end the advancing Mexicans (the drying garments flutter- 
ing in a brisk breeze) Men, women and children, as well as the negroes, 
ran helter skelter for the fort situated almost at the extreme east end of the 
island. 

In an hour the alarm was over, for it became known then that the fleet 
had saluted the messengers who came in a leaky boat, to bring the news 
of the victory at San Jacinto. Two days later, and another severe scare 
seized the government officials. It was reported by a courier that strange 
vessels were approaching the island from the southwest, having been seen 
off the mouth of the Brazos- The schooner of war Liberty, a vessel of light 
draught, was ordered to warp in close to the fort, in order to protect it, and 
"Commander" Harris, one of the Harris brothers of Harrisburg, was or- 
dered aboard one of the vessels of the brothers, the "Cayuga," which was 
commandeered by the Republic to carry provisions to the army; but owing 
to some misunderstanding as to financial matters, had not yet sailed. The 
Cayuga was forced to land all men of its crew excepting those absolutely 
necessary to handle the small steamer; also its two small iron four-pound 
cannon were unshipped and placed in the fort, which thus received its first 
armament. The Liberty carried four guns ; but these small four-pounders 
landed and placed in the fort, have the greater interest for us, for as will be 
described further on, they finally became the property of the company whose 
history is embodied in this sketch, namely, the Galveston Artillery Company, 



which was organized late in 1840, being composed of business men and their 
clerks. The fort had now received several additional naval guns, from ves- 
sels that had run ashore, and the gun crew in the regular pay of the Re- 
public, could not handle all the cannon. Two young merchants of Galveston 
then conceived the patriotic idea of organizing a company capable of assist- 
ing the trained gunners. The Republic only paid for the services of volun- 
teers or militia in active service, being too poor to keep up a standing army, 
therefore it is doubtful if our early military companies received any pay, 
excepting during periods of alarm, when invasion was expected, and when 
they were mustered in and compelled to drill actively. The pay of captains 
was $75 per month, of Lieutenants $50, of Sergeants $35 and of privates $25. 
As all men had to furnish their own weapons, they received a monthly allow- 
ance for ammunition ; and those who furnished their own horses received 
fifteen dollars extra each month. This pay was not attractive in a commu- 
nity like Galveston, where everything necessary for life and comfort came 
very high, having to be brought by vessel. Moreover, although the pay was 
stipulated to be in dollars of value equal to that of the currency in the United 
States (notes of banks of good repute in U. S. selling close to the specie 
standard) the wages of the militia were frequently paid in the depreciated 
currency of the Republic, which ranged as low as 10c on the dollar and 
averaged about 25c. One of the future prominent citizens of Galveston, a 
militia man of that period, on a certain pay day received a large stack of the 
depreciated "Red Script" of the Republic- He humorously advised the pay- 
master to change the color of the paper money to green, for then "we fellows 
can anyway try and fool our mules into a meal." 

The early clerks or merchants and mechanics of Galveston had to per- 
form some hard licks and stunts to get along; besides the high cost of all 
necessaries, Galveston was subject to wind and overflow; to yellow fever 
epidemics, and was handicapped by the absence of drinkable water, fuel, and 
building material. Therefore if the early militia men are pictured as gro- 
tesquely as the citizen soldiers of France in 1785, do not wonder. Each 
man supplied himself with such equipment as he could afford, or possessed. 
Some wore tall hats, others caps, and some possibly a plumed cocked hat, 
or chapeau. The same diversity affected their footwear, clothing and 
weapons. Some possibly carried the old muskets of their ancestors. Of 
course, all fire arms of the period were still flint lock rifles, or muskets. 
The first effort in Galveston to have some uniformity of accoutrement was 
evidenced by the leather crossbelts. These were ordered from the north 
at wholesale rates, and contained hangers for saber, powder horn and am- 
munition pouch. Shortly after the organization of the Artillery Company 
the percussion cap came into use, and Joseph Osterman (an uncle of the 
writer, a prominent merchant, as well as quartermaster of the Company), 
imported the first caps, packed in soldered tin cases, containing one thous- 
and each. The early caps were large, made of thin brass coated with ful- 
minate, and fired by a trigger which struck the rim of the cap. A year or 
two after its organization the Galveston Artillery Company, composed of the 
wealthiest men in the State in a miltiary company, became a swell body- 
They sported high patent leather boots, shakos with white plumes; a dark 
blue cloth uniform faced with white and gold, and lastly, though not leastly, 
besides the sabres each man had either a new muzzle-loading percussion cap 
rifle, or an old musket altered by the blacksmith and provided with a new 
lock. Joe Osterman finally, in 1843, brought some improved Colt revolvers 
to Galveston. At first the invention of Sam Colt was a clumsy five-barrel 
pistol, to be soon displaced by the revolving cylinder with one barrel. This 
weapon took years to become the serviceable and accurate muzzle-loading 
percussion cap revolver used in the Civil War- However, it caused a sen- 
sation when introduced into Texas, and the first fifty-five weapons shipped 
in by Osterman from the north brought $31.50 each. Fifty of these were 



delivered at the navy yard (for the navy) and five were sold to the officers 
of the Artillery Company, Crawford and Osterman being the first members 
to own one. Several other companies were formed in the early forties, but 
only those will be mentioned whose connection with the Artillery Company 
entitle them to reference in this sketch. The frequent alarms in Galveston 
made it necessary for the various companies to perform patrol duty on the 
beach, lest an enemy's vessel might slip up to the harbor without due no- 
tice. The Galveston Artillery Company, owing to its frequent drills with 
the guns, escaped this patrol duty. The post commander, Colonel Alden 
Jackson, called for frequent drills of the companies, which were styled the 
Fourth Regiment of the Second Brigade (General Morehouse's). The com- 
panies were divided into numbered patrols for duty ; and the early Galves- 
ton Civilian and Gazette's editions contain notices for patrols number 

to meet on the beach for their weekly drills. 

In 1840 the Videttes, a mounted company, was formed for the purpose 
of patrolling the beach down the island, an impossibility for the infantry 
men, who covered the beach from the fort and a few miles west- The 
patrols were kept up night and day during the periods of insecurity and 
alarm, and the Videttes built two patrol boxes (or huts), one near the San 
Louis pass, and one at the Halfway House, 16 miles down. Big Mouth 
Jack, a darky, was cook for the patrol at the Pass. Supplies went to the 
patrol by means of bales, casks, or baskets swung on the backs of burros, 
equal weights being suspended on each side of the animal; thus fodder, 
water and provisions were easily carried. The Videttes did not do much 
drilling, as their mounts were not capable of extended tactical evolutions. 
Horses were scarce on the island and their upkeep expensive. Mules were 
cheaper and less fastidious in their food, whilst the burros felt absolutely 
at home. A burro could be bought for five dollars, and as he required no 
currycomb, and feasted on the cacti and other indigestibles down the island, 
when not in use he was turned loose to shift for himself (or herself, per- 
haps). Some got semi-wild down the island and became a nuisance, segre- 
gating in herds, and occasionally raiding the gardens of the city- One day 
a herd headed by a sleek jack, took a notion to make a week-end excursion 
to Galveston. They came by the beach route, the only available road down 
the island in the early days. A patrol saw a large body of Mexican cavalry 
quickly approaching and fired their guns. The patrols all retreated, the 
rear patrols firing their guns to alarm the city. In this they succeeded in 
time, for many of the old timers to view an invasion of the burros, who 
promptly halted at the first line of skirmishers thrown out by the re-formed 
patrols. The Videttes made excellent scouts, but they of course did not 
make an impressive appearance, for some mounted chargers, others mules, 
and a majority burros of all kinds, sizes and tempers. A clerk of Mr. Han- 
nay's a giant called Long Legged Johnnie, was mounted on a small donkey, 
and he could at will steer his steed with his feet on the ground. 

In 1842 the storm of August badly damaged the old octagon sand fort 
built by Colonel John Morgan. The Artillery Company of Galveston was 
ordered to help the "regulars" to make new mud embankments. Luckily, 
most of the members owned slaves, and were permitted to send substitutes. 
The fort was rebuilt in the shape of a four-pointed star, and a long swivel 
24-pounder called Tom occupied the center, whilst 12-pounders from the 
navy were placed in the four apices. The old guns in the fort had been 
badly mired and had to be raised by derricks built over them. There was 
no lumber heavy enough in town to make a floor for the fort, so a new ice 
house just built with planks 4 inches thick, was commandeered, torn down 
and effectively used. For its services the Galveston Artillery Company now 
was presented with the two iron 4-pounders taken six years previously from 
the Cayuga, and just recovered from the mud. These pieces formed the 



first armament of the Galveston Artillery Company, which up to that time 
had played "soup" at the fort. The company had carriages made for these 
guns, and erected a shed for them on the southeast corner of Seventeenth 
and Mechanic Streets. 

In the course of a dozen years, in a generation perhaps, the origin of 
these guns was forgotten, for they were acquired at a period when the local 
newspapers issued every fourteen days after the arrival of the New Orleans 
boat, dealt with the news of the outside world, from which Galveston, then 
so remote and disconnected, was practically cut off for such a long period. 
Thus events happening in Washington, in Europe, became known only long 
after they occurred. The events of interest in a small community became 
known so quickly that the paper when it went to press possibly a week or 
two later, refrained from rehearsing what had become common property. 
The men of the Artillery Company, whose drills at the fort consisted mostly 
of learning how to quickly load and fire the pieces, as well as to care for 
them, for the State, or rather Republic, was always too poor to have ammu- 
nition for practice; now, thanks to the liberality of some of the merchant 
members, were able to have monthly target drills. These took place at the 
foot of Twentieth Street, a buoy with a target being anchored several hun- 
dred yards from the beach. The rougher the weather the greater the skill 
required to make a score. Lieutenant Crawford had the reputation of being 
the crack gunner of the company. 

The beach patrols were credited with some curious finds when engaged 
in skirting the beach front; these consisted of a box of silverware, and fre- 
quently lumps of spermaceti and ambergris. Asphaltum also was picked 
up, and one day the patrol discovered a stranded whale. On another occa- 
sion the coast guard was enabled to render timely service to a small wrecked 
schooner's crew, a few of the members thereof being dragged ashore. 

In 1845, when negotiations opened which finally caused the Republic 
to become one of the States of the United States, the Artillery Company still 
kept up its organization under another flag. Now that its responsibilities 
were lessened, the company's military duties became less irksome, and its 
energies were devoted more to participation in local functions. By this 
time the Artillery Company was gorgeous in its new uniform, and the mem- 
bership had been swelled by fusion with the Fusileers. The United States 
only kept up the fort for a short time, when the defeats by Generals Taylor 
and Scott broke the power of Mexico, and Galveston had no more need for 
a fort at that time. 

Only on two occasions the Artillery Company ventured forth on military 
expeditions, which will be described in due course. The members of the 
company largely composed of the prominent merchants, had such large 
financial interests at stake, that the company, as a whole, did not care to vol- 
unteer for active service abroad. Thus but few members joined the New 
Mexico, or Mier, expeditions, and even less volunteered for the Mexican 
war in 1846. Before enumerating, therefore, the social victories of the or- 
ganization, let us retrace five years and take up the personnel of the company. 

On September 13, 1840, the Galveston Artillery Company came into 
existence with John Howe as captain, and A- C. Crawford as first lieutenant, 
and A. F. James as second lieutenant. Joseph Osterman was quartermaster- 
Among the early members we recall names prominent in the future upbuild 
of the city. Isadore Dyer, who founded the Union Marine Fire Insurance 
Company; Oscar Parish, county clerk until the war; J. H. Walton and J. 
S. Sydnor, both of whom served as early mayors; W. J. Wilson, the first 
sheriff; J. C. Shaw, hotel man and alderman; S. M- Williams, the first mer- 
chant prince, and Jno. L. Darragh, Steve Southwick, J. P. Davie, Jno. M. 



Reed, Frank Merriman, Steve Van Sickle, Sam Churchill and scores of 
others. On the last day of January, 1844, the company was chartered by 
the Republic. The vice-president, in the absence of the president, signed 
the document, which bore the signature of Dr. Anson Jones, and D. S. 
Kaufman, Speaker of the House- In 1844 Galveston was in bad shape. 
Two severe yellow fever epidemics and one storm had caused great business 
depression; also the company had keenly felt the blade of the Reaper, one- 
fourth of the membership succumbing to the disease. 

Therefore it was decided then "that for purposes of economy and of 
efficiency the Artillery Company and the Fusileers do unite." This was 
the more readily accomplished, as the many members had their names on 
the rolls of each organization, and did not care to assume the expense of 
double dues and double uniforms. The uniform of the old Artillery Company 
was retained, and Captain Howe, who had died, was supplanted by Captain 
A. Swingle, the late captain of the Fusileers, whilst A. C. Crawford was re- 
elected to the first lieutenancy. The roster of 1844 likewise contained: Jas. 
P. Cole, second lieutenant; Turner Barnes (ex-San Jacinto veteran), third 
lieutenant; with Oscar Parish and P. J. Berger, sergeants, and Isadore Dyer, 
and Chas. G. Bryant as corporals- Dr. C. F. Baumlein was surgeon, there 
being no chaplain in those days. The company had a membership of 75 
men, and the officers, with minor changes, continued for six years, when A. 
C. Crawford became captain for a period of six years. During that period 
Jas. P. Cole, Oscar Parish and Jno. Sydnor acted as lieutenants. 

In 1857 the company ran down. Crawford had resigned and political 
and business troubles were rampant. The writer has no record who com- 
manded the company that year. The City Guard, a company organized by 
a Tremont Street man, Dr. J- L. McKeen, in 1852, secured a large member- 
ship. This company had plenty of men, but little in the way of equipment, 
the reverse of the Artillery Company. Again a fusion was decided upon, 
and the companies merged late in 1857 or early in 1858. The Artillery Com- 
pany now owned six guns, which were housed in a rented hall located on 
Postoffice Street, between 24th and 25th, a one-story structure with a heavy 
plank floor. The six guns were as follows : The two old iron 4-pounders 
taken from the Cayuga in 1836, and known as the "Twin Sisters" (which they 
were not) ; the two iron six-pounders acquired by purchase from the United 
States after the Fusileers and Artillery Company merged; and finally two 
brass six-pounders, a donation recently obtained from the State of Texas. 

In 1858 we find the hero of the New Mexican expedition, the famous 
ex-Indian fighter, Hugh McLeod, captain of the Artillery Company (now 
merged with the City Guards) ; Henry Jenkins, who acted as first lieutenant 
and A. J. Ingersoll as second lieutenant of the old City Guard were sup- 
lanted by J. P. Cole, first lieutenant and Henry Jenkins, second lieutenant. 
McLeod was succeeded by Captain W. H. Stevens some time in 1859.. 
Stevens, a former lieutenant in the United States coast survey service, later 
became famous as a Confederate brigadier general, and fell in battle in 1866 
after joining the unfortunate Emperor Maximilian in Mexico. Captain 
Stevens was aided by Lieutenants F. W. Malone, J. L. McKeen, and H. Van 
Buren in 1859 and 1860 in the management of the Artillery Company. In 
1861 Stevens joined the Confederacy and Van Buren became captain, 
with McKeen as first lieutenant. The Company voted to join the Con- 
federacy as six-months men, and having had "rebored" the two small iron 
4-pounders (wrongly known as Twin Sisters) were now ready for action 
with two brass and four iron guns, all six-pounders (the two smallest hav- 
ing been enlarged in the foundry of Morgan Perry, on 18th and B, so that 
the entire battery could use uniform balls and ammunition.) Land forces 
under General E. B. Nichols of Galveston and some companies in West 
Texas under Colonel Jno. O. Ford were ordered to invest and attack Fort 



Brown. The Morgan liner, "Gen. Rusk," was seized by local troops and the 
greater portion of the Artillery Company, under Captain Van Buren, made 
the trip to Santiago Brazos to aid the land forces in the capture of Fort 
Brown. The expedition proved a bloodless one, because Fort Brown for 
some unknown reason was surrendered to Nichols and Ford, without a sin- 
gle shot being fired. The disgusted Artillery Company returned on the 
schooner Shark and soon disbanded; many of the members joined different 
Confederate regiments. The history of this period is wrapped in silence as 
far as the guns of the battery are concerned- Galveston lost two-thirds of 
its population and authentic information has not survived. The late Col. 
Sidney T. Fontaine told the writer that he believed the Artillery Company's 
guns were used for local defense at first. Others had it that the Federals 
got them ; still others that General Magruder took them away. After the 
war it was claimed that the "Twin Sisters," the iron six-pounders, formerly 
the four-pounders of the Cayuga, were seen at Austin, Baton Rouge, Spring- 
field, Ills-, and Houston. 

A certain M. A. Sweetman, a member of the old 114th Ohio Volunteer 
Infantry, claimed he saw two "iron" six-pounders in an open lot, back of 
the Kennedy building at Houston. On a brass plate inscribed was the le- 
gend: "Presented by the State of Louisiana, Mar. 4, 1861, to the State of 
Texas. These guns were used with terrific effect at the battle of San Jacinto. 
Henry W. Allen (governor of Louisiana) ;Chas. C. Brusle, Wm. G. Austin, 
Committee." 

Accepting Sweetman as a reliable gentleman, the question arises "were 
these six-pounders the old re-bored guns of the Cayuga, erroneously known 
as the Twin Sisters?" Again, how did they get to Louisiana and why should 
Louisiana, threatened by war, return them to Texas? There are no records 
to be had at Austin concerning these guns. 

However, at the capitol entrance at Austin stand two old ugly, poorly 
cast iron guns, bearing this legend on their stone resting places: "Pre- 
sented by Major General T. J. Chambers to the Republic of Texas. These 
guns were used in the Texas Revolution." 

The same M. A. Sweetman who saw the six-pounders in the Houston 
empty lot, likewise observed in the same place two iron 24-pounders. These 
pieces, he stated, were of very inferior workmanship and were inscribed: 
"Presented to the Republic of Texas by Gen. T. J. Chambers." 

(The writer, on a recent visit to Austin, was asked by many interested 
parties, "if these guns really were the Twin Sisters?" The guns in ques- 
tion have no lettering on their barrels. 



THE REAL TWIN SISTERS. 

In 1835, the good people of Cincinnati, knowing the defenseless state of 
the patriots in Texas, who were without artillery, at a mass meeting held 
at Main and Court Streets under the auspices of Mr- Smith, agent for Texas, 
and Dr. Daniel M. Drake, present, Pulaski Smith, Herbert Lytle, Dave 
Boles, Willis Tatum, Dave Disney, Harry Valette, W. F. Conny, Jno. F. 
Martin and others, a committee of three were appointed to take up a collec- 
tion on November 17th, 1835. 

A rush order was placed with the iron and brass works of Greenwood 
& Webb, who in due course cast two small brass six-pounders. These, by 
the end of the year, were shipped to New Orleans by Robert F. Lytle, a 
brother of one of the collecting committee. Great care had to be taken in 
shipping arms and munitions to Texas, as the Spanish Ambassador at Wash- 



ington was very active with threats of retaliation ; in fact, Washington in- 
terdicted all shipments of war contraband. The two guns dismantled were 
placed in large hogsheads, labelled "hollowware," and sent to New Orleans. 
Here they were received by the agent of Sam M. Williams of Brazoria, who 
kept them for some weeks concealed, until he had the chance of reconcealing 
them on a schooner consigned with merchandise to Velasco merchants. The 
guns arrived at Velasco and were taken in charge by Col- A. Huston, acting 
quartermaster of the Republic. The location of the army being not known, 
and as the troops were believed to concentrate at Galveston as the last 
stand, the guns were placed on the sloop Pennsylvania and sent to Galves- 
ton under the charge of Captain Luke Falvel, an experienced pilot of the 
Harris Brothers. At Galveston no regular officer of the government was 
present to receive them (this was some time in March), but as refugees 
were gathering there a Captain Smith, brother-in-law of Colonel Rusk, took 
charge of them. Early in April the guns were sent to Harrisburg, as it was 
learned that the army was approaching that place, and Galveston had artillery 
protection from the guns of several naval vessels. Again Luke Falvel took 
the guns on the sloop Ohio to Harrisburg, the pieces being under the com- 
mand of Lieutenant Aaron Burns with an escort. These small brass cannon 
decided the fortunes of Texas. The writer's father, who saw these guns at 
Velasco, and then again many times on the journey from Velasco to Bahia, 
stated they had the maker's name graven in small letters on the butt, whilst 
on top in large letters was the legend: "The gift of Cincinnati." After the 
battle of San Jacinto, when Burnet and his cabinet left Galveston in a scare, 
the guns were brought to Velasco to protect the "government." Also the 
reinforced brass twelve-pounder was repaired and brought to Velasco (this 
was the gun captured from Santa Anna). 

After Colonel Rusk's (now General Rusk) return from the expedition 
west as far as Lavaca, it was decided to reinforce the fort at Bahia (Goliad). 
The Republic now had plenty of cannon. General Chambers sent two pieces 
with the Kentucky recruits; and Captain Isaac W. Burton and his Horse 
Marines captured two small pieces from a schooner near Capano. The Twin 
Sisters being of brass and light weight, were consequently dispatched to 
Bahia under a guard of 100 men. These were picked from Green's Regi- 
ment and consisted of 70 men under Captain Duval and 30 men under Cap- 
tain Graham (Colonel Graham). The latter company furnished and equipped 
at the expense of the writer's father, was armed with long range Kentucky 
rifles, and their footwear was specially fitted for the long journey. _ Major 
Leon Dyer, aide de camp of General Green, accompanied the expedition to 
report on the defenses of Bahia. The expedition was guided by Tom J. 
Sullivan (one of the old Irish colony at Matagorda) and the teams were 
under the charge of the veteran, R. Barnes. 

In crossing a creek some forty miles from Bahia the Twin Sisters were 
mired and caught in quicksand and could not be extricated. The expedi- 
tion reached Bahia in July or August. Colonel Graham and Major Dyer 
soon returned to New Orleans, hence it is not known what efforts, if any, 
were made to recover the cannon. It was well known to early Galvestonians 
how the brass Twin Sisters were lost. Captain Hugh McLeod, it was 
claimed, was a member of this guard and so it was later written by his friend 
and companion in the New Mexico expedition, Geo. Wilkens Kendall, later 
editor of the Picayune (according to N. B. Yard). President Burnet, July 
23rd, 1836, thanked the people of the city of Cincinnati "for the beautiful 
pieces which did such effective service." Luke Falvel, the famous ship cap- 
tain of the revolution, who lived for many years on Twentieth and Broad- 
way, also told Colonel N- B. Yard of the inscriptions on and the fine work- 
manship and polish of the guns, which looked like "imported" ones. He 
helped to unpack the pieces from the hogsheads at Velasco, and removed 



the verdegris which formed on them during their long voyage. Ben C 
Stuart, in a sketch, asserted that the guns of the Artillery Company, when' 
stored on Seventeenth and Mechanic, were brass four-pounders. 

The Artillery Company did not reorganize until 1871, when on July 
21st Captain M. F. Mott was elected, and R. J. Hughes lieutenant. 

The first of the famous annual balls took place at the Tremont Opera 
House in 1872. The frame armory building was built on the southeast cor- 
ner of Avenue I and Twenty-second Streets in 1873, at a cost of $21,000. 
On October 29, 1894, the building was badly damaged by fire. During the 
period after the fire whilst repairing the Armory Hall, the company occupied 
the Harmony Hall, now the Scottish Rite building Going back to 1874 we find 
Marcus Mott, captain; J. R. Hughes, senior lieutenant; Andrew G. Mills, 
junior lieutenant, and Dr. Edward Randall, surgeon. On April 21st of that 
year the company took part in the finest San Jacinto Day procession held in 
the city- In 1884 the auxiliary Galveston Artillery Light Guard was or- 
ganized, Wm. H. Eichlitz, captain. 

August the fourth to tenth, 1886, the company participated in the great 
Interstate Drill at Camp Magruder, in which forty companies participated. 

In June, 1889, Galveston held its semi-centennial (city government first 
organized 1839). In 1890 trouble commenced with the adjutant general re- 
garding the observance of the militia law of 1889. In 1893 the company, 
then under Captain Crawford, was ordered for the second time to give up its 
equipment, and on December 12, 1893, the sheriff, Pat Tiernan, took charge 
of the same for the State. 

The social functions of the old Artillery Company, if written, would fill 
a book; suffice that previous to the war the company acted as guards and 
fired the salutes on all public holidays; and at such receptions tendered to 
notable visitors, necessitating military honors. The presidents of the Re- 
public liked the feasts served at Galveston ; a French admiral ; a German 
petty prince ; a noted Arctic explorer, and many of the European ambassa- 
dors to the Republic were all entertained and saluted. The dead were 
honored as well as the living, for in 1857 the Artillery Company fired a 
salute at the funeral, and marched in the procession held in memory of the 
lamented General Rusk, when services were held in the Baptist church, on 
Avenue H and Twenty-second Street. The present Artillery Club, which 
has succeeded to the social functions of the old company, thus comes hon- 
estly to the prestige it has acquired for Galveston hospitality; moreover, it 
has carefully cherished and tried to preserve the old howitzers it inherited, 
and the ancient records and traditions of its forbear. 

In the expedition against Fort Brown a Morgan liner was comman- 
deered and the Artillery Company sent seventy men under Captain Van 
Buren, and six guns. Only about a dozen names of those participating can 
be recalled by the writer from a roster furnished him years ago by Isadore 
LeClere. This roster, unfortunately, was lost in 1900. 

Van Buren was a slightly built man, wearing spectacles, something 
unusual at that time, for a military man with defective vision would not think 
of wearing them. Van Buren was joshed enough, but as he made the best 
record in the artillery practice, it was attributed to "Cap. having four eyes." 

The writer is indebted for notes on the Artillery Co. to old Galveston- 
ians, long deceased : Colonel N. B. Yard, Isadore LeClere, Isadore Dyer ; also 
to Colonel Sidney T. Fontaine, who died but a few years ago, and who was a 
lieutenant of artillery in 1861 or 1862. 



Complete rosters of the Artillery Company in 1842 and 1871, as well as 
those of some of the early military companies, will be found in the writer's 
History of Galveston, Part III, entitled, "The Army and Navy at Galveston." 

The only survivor of the old Artillery Company previous to the Civil 
War is M. W. Shaw. Judge R. M. Franklin is the only member left of the 
company which was accompanied on the steamer Matagorda by the Wigfall 
Guards, and the Island Cit y Rifles, under Colonel Van Dorn, when they seized 
the Star of the West at Indianola. The members living of the roster of 1871 
are Judge James B. Stubbs, Captain W. M. Stafford (who commanded the 
Artillery Company in 1880 to 1881) ; Sergeant Theodore D. Lufkin, and J. 
M. O. Menard. 

The old cannon found May, 1872, at Virginia Point, Spanish brass 
pieces dated 1788, were purchased by the Artillery Company for $200. The 
brass howitzers (or mountain guns) now in front of the Artillery Club on 
Twenty-third and Broadway were probably purchased from the government 
in 1871. These mountain howitzers have been fired on many gala days; they 
also served much later as silent monitors of peace to the assembled rioters, 
who threatened violence during the "Santa Fe" and "Mallory Dock" strike 
disturbances. On one occasion an accidental discharge, caused the loss of 
several fingers to a member of the company, who still resides here. 



THE TWIN SISTERS CONTROVERSY EPITOMIZED. 

1836. April — Captain Luke Falvel noted inscriptions on barrels of brass guns 
(6-pounders sent by Dr. Drake from Cincinnati). 

1836- July — Colonel Leon Dyer noted inscriptions on brass 6-pounders sent 
to Bahia and lost on way. 

1842. After the storm the Galveston Artillery Company gets from the dam- 
aged fort two iron 4-pounders, which were finally re-bored before the 
Civil War to become 6-pounders. Ben Stuart claimed they were brass 
4-pounders. 

1844. The Artillery Company got two iron 6-pounders from the Fort Travis 
armament. 

1858. State of Texas donated two brass 6-pounders to Artillery Company. 

1861. March — State of Louisiana appropriates $700 to repair and mount two 
6-pounders believed to be the "old Twin Sisters." These guns were of 
iron and had inscriptions only on brass carriage plates, stating that 
Louisiana donated these guns to Texas. 

1862. January — Legislature of Texas thanks Governor Allen of Louisiana 
for the two guns, just described. 

1865. M- A. Sweetman of Ohio sees two 6-pound iron guns in a lot at Hous- 
ton ; these guns bore inscription on carriage plate from Governor Allen 
and his Louisiana Committee. 



SUMMARY. 

It will thus be seen that the Artillery Company did not acquire the real 
Twin Sisters in 1842, and that the guns sent from Louisiana were not guns 
owned by the Artillery Company, for in 1861 it still had its full quota of can- 
non acquired previously, also the Louisiana guns seen in Houston after the 
war were different in material and inscriptions from the San Jacinto "Twins." 



WAR INDEX, GALVESTON ARTILLERY COMPANY. 

1840-1843. Service at Fort Travis and at Camp Saccharapp. 

1842. Special mission to west coast on schooner Laffite, Captain J. E. Havi- 
land, with battalion under Major Bryant. Court martial of some 
members who mutinied at Live Oak Point- 

1844- Camp Saccharapp. Artillery practice; three privates wounded by 
bursting of cannon. 

1861. January 16 — Capture of "Texas" in harbor. 

1861. February 21 — Capture of Fort Brazos Santiago. 

1861. February 29 — Return of "detachment" with captured guns and am- 
munition. 

March 2 — 'Capture of U. S. Revenue Cutter "Dodge." 

March 6— Capture of Fort Brown by forces under General Nichols 
and Colonel Ford. 

April 17 — Capture of blockade runner "Star of the West" by the 
company, under Captain Van Buren, Lieutenants Malone and Mann 
with two 6-pounders. 

August 3 — "Detachment" causes U. S. Steamer "South Carolina" to 
withdraw, after firing on South Fort, Twenty-first Street and sand 
hills. 

August 8 — South Fort with but a few rounds of ammunition. Many 
members of Artillery Company join other military companies. 



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